Thursday, October 30, 2008

Found Relatives

Barack Obama has lived one version of the American Dream that has taken him to the steps of the White House. But a few miles from where the Democratic presidential candidate studied at Harvard, his Kenyan aunt and uncle, immigrants living in modest circumstances in Boston, have a contrasting American story.

Those that's got shall getThose that's not shall loseSo the bible said and it still is trueMama may havePapa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his ownThat's got his own

Zeituni Onyango, the aunt so affectionately described in Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, lives in a disabled-access flat on a rundown public housing estate in South Boston.

Well the strong seem to get moreWhile the weak ones fadeEmpty pockets don't ever make the gradeMama may havePapa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his ownThat's got his own

A second relative believed to be the long-lost “Uncle Omar” described in the book was beaten by armed robbers with a “sawed-off rifle” while working in a corner shop in the Dorchester area of the city. He was later evicted from his one-bedroom flat for failing to pay $2,324.20 (£1,488) arrears, according to the Boston Housing Court.

Rich relations may give youA crust of bread and suchYou can help yourself but don't take too much'Cos Mama may havePapa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his ownThat's got his own

The US press has repeatedly rehearsed Mr Obama’s extraordinary odyssey, but the other side of the family’s American experience has only been revealed in parts. Just across town from where Mr Obama made history as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, some of his closest blood relatives have confronted the harshness of immigrant life in America.

When you got moneyYou got lots of friendsCrawling round your doorWhen the money's goneAnd all your spending endsThey won't be around no more

Speaking outside her home in Flaherty Way, South Boston, on Tuesday, Ms Onyango, 56, confirmed she was the “Auntie Zeituni” in Mr Obama’s memoir. She declined to answer most other questions about her relationship with the presidential contender until after the November 4 election. “I can’t talk about it, I just pray for him, that’s all,” she said, adding: “After the 4th, I can talk to anyone.”